A Speck of Outside

Your gentle hello from last night stayed with me as I woke up, so I crept back to the front door mat. The door was cracked open just an inch. Through that narrow gap, a pale sliver of hallway tile showed, and a crisp current of cool air slipped across my nose. Right across the metal threshold lay a single helicopter maple seed, dry and pale brown. I leaned down slowly, nudging its paper-thin wing with the tip of my nose. It spun around in a tidy half-circle on the smooth metal strip. I pressed one front paw against the sill, watching the quiet corridor outside while holding the seed steady.